A Gift Worth Waiting For (What Christmas Gifts Mean to Me Pt. 1)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

All I wanted for Christmas was a blue, remote-controlled fighter jet. As I bounded down the stairs that magic-filled morning, I saw a box under the tree that I knew was for me. It was just the right size. When I shook it, it was just the right sound. And when my older brother opened his Christmas present, it was exactly what he’d ask for: a massive blue and black bow-and-arrow set.

I excitedly ripped open the brightly colored wrapping paper on my present to discover a pink Noah’s ark set. Baffled, I glanced around the tree to see if this was A Christmas Story moment. Was there one last present tucked away behind the couch? But there wasn’t, and I was devastated.

My mom told me that when we’d visited the toy store several months ago, she’d given me the option of getting the toy I wanted for Christmas or getting a different toy right then and there. In my tremendous eight-year-old wisdom, I’d chosen the instant toy, played with it for a little bit, and forgotten it’s existence. Then my mom, out of pity, had purchased a present for me to put under the tree anyway.

With tears in my eyes and a sob choking my throat, I struggled to thank my mom for the gift she’d given me, which made her teary-eyed too. And from that frosty holiday I learned a valuable lesson that I still carry with me today.

Instant Gifts Lead to Eventual Regret

The first half of that lesson is that instant gifts lead to eventual regret. “Instant” should probably top the “Top 10 Words of This Year” list every year. We slurp up instant ramen night after night because cooking a proper meal would take too long. We send instant messages to our family members because walking across the house to talk to them requires too much effort. And just like my fighter jet debacle, the consequences of our instant nature are often not “instantly” obvious. It’s only as the months pass as our bellies widen or our relationships fray that we realize how much we’ve lost by getting what we want instantly.

Good Gifts Take Time

Conversely, good gifts take time. I believe God baked this truth into our very nature as human beings. Babies require nine long months to be born and another twenty-one years to reach full maturity. Across the world, the average marriage age is well past twenty, meaning that one of the best gift many of us will receive will take most of us two or even three decades to receive. And it’ll be at least another twenty years after that till we reach our happiest wedded bliss.

Conclusion

As Christmas approaches, we may have several gifts we’re waiting to receive—a new job, a new relationship, or a new phase of life to transition into. But if we’re impatient, we may short-circuit the wonderful present our divine Gift Giver is preparing for us. Just as Jesus Christ was certainly worth the thousands of years the world waited to receive Him, whatever gift God has in store for us, is also worth the wait.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time.”

(Ecclesiastes 3:11)